Nathan Luff's Blog, page 5
January 13, 2021
Rewatch the Festivities
Missed our official The Nerd Herd launch? Not a problem. You can rewatch it with this link below.
There are live animals, authors and illustrators being animals, a drawing tutorial and more!!!
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Online Book Launch
We’re officially launching The Nerd Herd online and you’re invited!! Try not to wee your pants in excitement!
Yes, Chris Kennett and I are cooking up a special online event to celebrate the release of book 1 in the Nerd Herd series.
More information will be posted here as it comes to hand. For the moment, put the date and time in your diary:
Sunday, 7th of February, 10am
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October 26, 2020
The Nerd Herd’s official release date.
Get thee to a bookshop! You don’t want to miss out on getting your copy of the first book in this exciting new junior series.
They may appear meek,
They may appear mild,
They may appear unbelievably soft,
But don’t be fooled …
Billy bites, Shaama spits, and Barny tells baaad jokes.
You don’t want to mess with the Nerd Herd!
With brilliant illustrations by Chris Kennett, this book is well suited for ages 7+. Books 2 and 3 will be out later in 2021 so you won’t have to wait too long to find out what happens next.
The post The Nerd Herd’s official release date. appeared first on Nathan Luff.
October 24, 2020
Sydney Book Signings!
As The Nerd Herd Book 1 is released into the wild, there will be some book signing events around the Sydney area. Details will be posted to this page, so check back here closer to the Feb 1 release date!
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October 17, 2020
The Nerd Herd Cover Reveal!
The countdown is on …
My new series The Nerd Herd has book 1 released in February of next year (with 2 more books to follow in the same year). It is highly illustrated by Chris Kennett and he has done such a great job— his work has made me laugh out loud on many an occasion.
So what’s it about? Here’s the blurb: Barny the Lamb and his friends are sick of being picked on. So they decide to form a gang to show everyone that they are not as soft as they look. But how do three fluffy friends stand up to a cunning fox, a gigantic cat, and a bull with behavioural issues?
You can also check out a great book trailer that Chris did here.
June 17, 2020
Book Trailer Competition
Lights! Camera! Action! Schools in NSW have the chance to enter an exciting Book Trailer competition!
The NSW branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia have just launched a new Book Trailer competition called COLLIDE. It’s open for grades 3-9 in NSW and you can chose either a book from the 2020 notables list or from the Premier’s Reading Challenge list.
Book trailers are heaps of fun to make plus they are a great way for students to respond to books. Making short videos also improves tech skills and it could be a great drama activity for students to act in. You can read my thoughts on book trailers plus see some tips here.
I get to be one of the judges for this competition alongside the amazing Deborah Abela and Tristan Bancks. You can find their tips and more on the official Collide page, which can be found here.
The competition is open now and closes August 16.
June 3, 2020
Tips for Creating Book Trailers
The wonderful people at the NSW branch of the CBCA are running a book trailer competition.
Details of the competition will be released very soon (I’ll link to these when they are available). As I have been planning some book trailers for some new releases I have coming out next year, I thought it might be a good time to share some thoughts on the subject.
Book trailers come in all shapes and sizes and are limited only by your imagination (and lack of props/sets/costumes, no special effects budget and no access to Hollywood stars) so, with that in mind, here are some helpful tips …
PURPOSE
Remember the purpose of a book trailer. It is to hook the viewer and entice them to read the book.
I wouldn’t give away the whole story, just give enough so they want more.
You should definitely try to convey the mood of the book. Is the book mysterious, funny, action-packed, magical or something else? Try to capture that mood in your trailer.
You could treat it like writing the sizzling start of a narrative.
SCALE IT BACK
Trailers are short so keep it simple! Maybe pick a scene from the book, or an element of the book and focus on that, rather than the book in its entirety. Alternatively, you could choose a theme of the book and focus on that.
MUSIC HELPS
Music helps establish mood and tie all your elements together. The great thing is, there are heaps of places online where you can get royalty-free music to use. When someone creates some music and allows others to use it royalty free, it means you are able to use it without paying money for that right.
This page here has some great suggestions for where students can access music. It is a good idea to enlist the help of teachers or parents to ensure the music is both FREE to download and ROYALTY-FREE to use.
Alternatively, you can use software such as Garageband to create your own moody music.
AUDIO IS KING
We will forgive your camera work if it a little shaky. We will forgive you if things are a little out of focus, or the quality of the shot isn’t great. What we can’t forgive though is if the audio is bad and we can’t hear what you are saying.
To help with this, use microphones, or make sure your camera/device is close to the person speaking, or, maybe record your audio as a voice over at the end.
AN EXAMPLE?
Here I have a book trailer that I quickly created for my novel Bad Grammar. I didn’t have great equipment, or any crew to help me, so I focused on the story elements instead.
Bad Grammar has a mystery element to the story but also it is funny, so I wanted to create a mood that was both mysterious and funny. I found some creepy music to put under it, which really helped.
I hope this helps, and happy book trailer making!!!!!
April 2, 2020
Happy Birthday Chicken Stu!
Chicken Stu has just turned 10!!!!!
It is crazy for me to believe that Chicken Stu is now ten years old. Those ten years have gone by so quickly. Today I celebrated with cake. A lot of cake. Stu didn’t have any, on account of him being a book, so I ate his share. As a birthday present, I gave him a nice dusting.
Yes, back in April 2010, I got to launch my first ever book out into the wild. My precious baby has been read by many around the world since then. There have been awards, inclusions on important lists and lots of heartwarming feedback from young fans. Now, ten years later, it has become difficult to find copies. Let’s hope that the release of some new books over the next 12 months sparks an increased interest in Stu and he can be re-released to live another day!!
February 6, 2020
Top Ten Books I Read as a Kid
I am presently working on revisions and drafts for a current junior series under contract, the first draft of a new junior series, and also the first draft of a middle grade novel.
The thing is, first drafts are HAAAAAAAAAAARD!!!!!! I love re-writing once I have something to work with but that first part, looking at a blank page and having to fill it with something … that bit is the worst!
And so, in order to procrastinate and not have to face these annoying first drafts, here I am going to share my favourite children’s books I read when I was a kid. Enjoy.
Taronga by Victor Kelleher. Let’s be honest, I read every book Victor Kelleher ever wrote and I was obsessed.
Space Demons by Gillian Rubenstein. I also read pretty much everything she wrote. I think I have an obsessive personality.
Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park. When I first visited Sydney, I was very excited to see The Rocks. I thought they were going to be actual rocks, like Uluru, only lots of them. I was very disappointed. The second time I visited Sydney, I’d read this book and visiting The Rocks was a lot more enjoyable as I pretended I was going back in time.
The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall. My year 5 teacher recommended this book because it had been his favourite as a kid. I loved it and the sequel.
People Will Hear You by Robin Klein. I also read so much Robin Klein and it’s difficult to pick just one, though I remember this one having a big impact on me.
Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian. I remember this book being very sad but also beautiful.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I so badly wanted to find my own secret place like the garden in this book. A magical wonderland … I guess there was this rubbish tip I went to that no one else went to due to the smell …
Shatterbelt by Colin Thiele. Here’s a slightly interesting story for you: I had an amazing teacher who knew how much I loved books. Once, there were all these left over books from Book Club and she gave them to me. One of them was the sequel to this book and I spent a long time trying to locate this book before I could read that sequel. Luckily, it was worth it. (N.B we didn’t have the internet and I didn’t live anywhere near a bookshop, so locating the book was actually a huge quest, kind of like Bilbo Baggins’ quest in Lord of the Rings)
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. I loved Super Fudge – I thought he was hilarious!
Matilda by Roald Dahl. I was Roald Dahl obsessed through a lot of primary school. This was always my favourite because it was about someone who loved to read. I was pretty devastated the day he died
So there you have it …
And now, back to the writing, so that one day I might have a book on someone else’s Top Books I Read as a Kid list.
November 17, 2019
New Nathan Luff Books Coming Your Way
It is with great excitement that I can announce I have new books in production.
They are part of a series to be published by Scholastic Australia. The first book is currently slated for July 2020, with the second to follow in November and the third expected in March 2021. Yes, you read right: that’s 3 new Nathan Luff books heading your way!!! Take a few breaths, stop screaming with excitement and get a grip people!
I am remaining tight lipped about the series (isn’t the suspense awesome?) other than to say that I’ll be working with an awesome illustrator and the books will be aimed for people aged 7 all the way up to 100 Sorry people over 100, these books are not for you – they are too exciting and your hearts probably couldn’t take it. I promise that the books will be funnier than that movie where the dog dies, and they will be more action packed than a documentary about roofing materials. You’ll love them!!!!*
So stay tuned as more is revealed closer to the date …
* This is not a promise; it’s merely a friendly suggestion …
